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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — a price
  4. pound — a weight
  5. present — a gift
  6. last — to go on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hand — help
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. charge — electricity
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bass — low music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bulb — for light
  23. charge — in control
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com